For years, the Apple Mac has played a small and niche role in enterprise computing, finding favour in areas such as desktop publishing, graphical design and video or content production.
But on the whole, a perception of a high price coupled with the lack of a broad spread of general purpose applications has had the tendency to …

Re: "Is it time for enterprise PC outfits to carry Apple Macs?"

Re: "Is it time for enterprise PC outfits to carry Apple Macs?"

I dont think he said anything about OS, ffs.

And Linux is generally a poor substitute for both Mac and Windows when you're dealing with people who do not possess the technical knowledge to properly handle it, such as just about everyone working in an environment where they have to use a computer, aside from the IT department.

Re: "Is it time for enterprise PC outfits to carry Apple Macs?"

"Linux is generally ... poor <snip>"

That's right. 'Cos all Linuxes are the same aren't they, all the way from the little ones that run your cable router and your Smart TV to the slightly bigger ones that run renderfarms and supercomputers, they are a poor substitute for real Wintel computers. Plonker.

It's the IT department and their suppliers with their cosy certified Microsoft dependent comfort zone that leads to Wintel world dominance. Nothing to do with what the users want or need in terms of functionality or usability.

Windows 8 might break that cosy comfort zone in some places, but others won't see the light at the end of the tunnel (the approaching train crash) and will just stick with the Wintel they've got in the forlorn hope that Windows 9 will fix Windows 8.

Are we going to get this story every month?

Re: Are we going to get this story every month?

Yes, but the situation has changed now. With that new MacBook Pro or whatever it's called, Apple has shown once more that they want to get out of the business market. Just think about it, the battery is glued in, the display cannot be repaired, the whole thing is so slim it'll probably break after a couple of month of use.

Apple doesn't care about business users any more. It's an irrelevant market for them. In the business market they compete with cheaper Linux boxes. If you spend the same amount of money you'll get a really nice Linux box which will be of service for the next decade.

Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

When a non-Apple laptop can be purchased for AT LEAST 1/2 LESS than an Apple laptop...and a PC desktop for 1/6 the cost of an Apple desktop...what enterprise in their right mind would do so? Especially in these days of budget cut backs.

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

What I find about Mac products is that a 5 year old Mac is still a pretty good computer today. And during those years I spend far less time tuning, tweaking, and general maintenance, than for Windows. THAT is why a Mac is worth twice the price of a Windows machine.

And at the same time the Mac has Unix under the hood, only more icing on the cake.

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

"...5 year old Mac is still a pretty good computer today."

And if you spent just half of what you did on your Mac on a decent PC instead, you'd find that the same statement would hold true. Of course, if you tried to run something other than iTunes and Safari on your 5-year-old computer, you'll find that "pretty good" doesn't quite cut it in Creative Suite 6 or some modern games (if they even run on OSX in the first place).

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

I'm just an office worker in a large university, but I know that the late-2011 iMac sitting on my desktop cost the same as the standard Dell boxes that are rolled out across the organisation. Your assertion as regards desktops does not hold true across the board. I suspect most large organizations do not go for cheap generic brand PCs. The only extra cost involved in purchasing the iMac was $50 for a copy of VMWARE so I can run Windows for a couple of enterprise apps.

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

Wow, where have you been over the last 10 years. This used to be true, but now we know better.

It's rare for a Mac to even last 5 years these days, let alone be useful. The build quality has deteriorated a great deal since the 1990s. Apple is probably the only company getting worse in that respect.

Yes, there is a Unix layer, but it's very old and barely usable. In fact its so old it had many very old security bugs in it which have been re-discovered in the last decade.

Besides you are comparing it to Windows, again 10 years ago that would have been a valid comparison, but today people who care, have moved to Linux.

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

@Christian Berger: "It's rare for a Mac to even last 5 years these days, let alone be useful"

This isn't reflected in any experience I have had or read about with Macs. They consistently rate highly in reliability studies (typically in the top 4). All the Macs we've purchased over the last 10 years (for home and business) are still in active service - only one laptop has had a battery replaced. If you have some comprehensive stats to back up your assertions, then lets hear them.

@Christian Berger: "Yes, there is a Unix layer, but it's very old and barely usable. In fact its so old it had many very old security bugs in it which have been re-discovered in the last decade.... people who care, have moved to Linux"

That's good for a laugh at least, but pretty much confirms you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I'm amazed the people are so quick to embarrass themselves by trumpeting their ignorance all over forums likes this. Do you think Unix has been standing still over the years? Or what role it plays in the Mac OS? And do you have no inking of the relationship between Linux and Unix? Why are you even reading, let alone commenting on, tech articles?

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

"When a non-Apple laptop can be purchased for AT LEAST 1/2 LESS than an Apple laptop...and a PC desktop for 1/6 the cost of an Apple desktop...what enterprise in their right mind would do so?"

Well I'm going back a couple of years here, but I needed a new computer. I really wanted a Mac Mini but I was on a tight budget so went for a cheap and cheerful PC instead.

By the time I had added the cost of Windows 7 Professional and other bits of software that would have been included with a Mac, I had spent more than by taking the plunge and going straight for the Mac.

Have you any idea how much Enterprise licences for Windows cost? When an enterprise buys stuff, the capital cost of a computer is nowhere near the whole story. You need to look at total cost of ownership instead.

Re: Cheesy article...or should I say Fruity article?

Uhm, I have this study here:

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/11/18/laptop_reliable/

According to it their failure rates are average, which is bad considering Apple is mostly in the consumer market where laptops don't get much mechanical stress. Consumers are typically more careful as they need to shell out for a new device when the old one breaks.

In the USA

I worked in healthcare and, due to so many clinicians being Apple lovers, our organisation was forced to support Macs. In doing so, they increased their purchase of Apple equipment to the point where it was around 30% of their asset inventory.

Windows or Linux boxes might be the dog's bolleaux for techies but then techies are a very small minority in the real world.

Re: In the USA

"I worked in healthcare and,...our organisation was forced to support Macs"

So, I take it you were still using a paper chart for your patients? Most EHR systems are Windows only. If you point at a "web-based" EHR and tell me they could just use that, then I do not believe your "healthcare" experience was with more than 1 provider....

Re: In the USA

ComChart EMR seems to do the job nicely on OS X.

http://www.comchart.com

As usual the conservative managers and sys admins of enterprise IT have not been keeping up with current events. Times are a changing and Microsofts age is starting to show. IT has to recognise this or risk becoming irelevent. If the users want Macs then let them have Macs, they will get them despite what IT dictates so you may as well be on their side.

In my corporate...

with over 12,000 staff globally we have over 40% of staff using a Mac, the percentage in IT is over 50%. Why - because staff are able to choose and almost all internal systems work cross-platform. Macs require less initial setup time, less ongoing support than PCs and the failure rate in much lower. Also a 4 year old Mac laptop is still perfectly usable with the latest OS, you cannot say the same about the PCs are 3 years old.